NHS: Winter Preparedness
Debate between Justin Madders and Wes Streeting(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Wes Streeting
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to say, for the avoidance of doubt, that accident and emergency is for accidents and emergency situations. It is not an “anything and everything” walk-in service, and A&E departments are already stretched ahead of strikes. For patients who are in need of medical care or attention but are struggling to access their GP or wondering which NHS service local to them would be most suitable, NHS 111 provides a suitable service to triage and point them in the right direction. Of course if someone requires an ambulance, they should dial 999 in emergencies, and if it is an accident or emergency, people should attend emergency departments in the usual way.
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) (Lab)
Late on Friday, I received notification that the Eastham walk-in centre was to be temporarily closed for four weeks, which appears to be a move in response to the real pressures in the NHS, as I think most of the staff are to be redeployed to the local A&E. Given that previously I and my hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern) campaigned vigorously to keep the centre permanently open, I would be grateful for any assurances the Secretary of State can give that this step is temporary and indeed indicative of the real pressures that the NHS is currently facing.
Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend can rest assured that he has my support as he keeps his eye on the temporary nature of this closure. I share his desire for it to be temporary.
I would make this point, too. There is a view among some in the BMA that somehow these strikes are consequence-free for patients and the NHS on the basis that we can just cancel some operations and it is okay because consultants will be covering. That is quite a cavalier attitude to take to fellow frontline staff who will be having their annual leave cancelled and finding themselves recalled right now. It also really minimises how patients feel when they cannot access a walk-in service, such as my hon. Friend’s, or indeed have waited, often for far too long, for a diagnostic test, scan or operation. They will have psyched themselves up and be ready for that appointment, but then find it cancelled because of strikes. The BMA might try to kid everyone else that the strikes are consequence-free for patients, but BMA members really ought not to kid themselves.
Resident Doctors: Industrial Action
Debate between Justin Madders and Wes Streeting(2 weeks ago)
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Wes Streeting
I regret to say that if the BMA rejects this offer, we will not proceed with it at this time. I wish that we were not in this transactional lock. I wish we could just move forward together in a spirit of partnership, with a bit of give and take. That is not where we are, and I think I would be crucified by the public if I were to take a different approach. It would be the wrong thing to do and it would incentivise people to strike further, and I cannot tolerate that any longer.
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) (Lab)
Our constituents will consider it absurd that we spend billions of pounds every year on training doctors who will never work in the NHS. I am pleased that we are grappling with this issue, just like the Secretary of State is grappling with many others. He has shown that by working constructively through the issues, we can, hopefully, reduce industrial action. I contrast that with the comments from the shadow Secretary of State, who talked about bringing back the minimum service level laws. Will the Secretary of State remind the House that those laws were so unworkable that no public sector service ever actually used them? In fact, we had the highest levels of industrial action in 40 years under the previous Government.
Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend has so much expertise on health and on employment rights and trade union law, and he is right. That is why this Government have chosen a different approach. We want to work with all our trade unions, we want to work with the BMA, and we can still do so if we hit the reset button and each of us commits to building a more constructive relationship.